On June 18, Shuruq Harb was named winner of the 2019 Han Nefkens Foundation – Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award, which recognizes artists aged 40 and under who are based in West and Central Asia. Harb will receive USD 15,000 from the Barcelona-based Han Nefkens Foundation to produce a new video work, which will be exhibited through 2020 at Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona; NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTUCCA); Wiels, Brussels; the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila; and Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai.

Harb’s practice is marked by her nuanced reflections on conflicts in contemporary society, drawn from her personal experiences of political strife in her native Palestine. Her works have been exhibited internationally, including at the 6th Asian Art Biennial, in Taichung (2017); the New Museum in New York (2014); and the 12th Istanbul Biennial (2011). She also curates the Acts of Simulation residency program for Arab artists at Amman’s Mohammad and Mahera Abu Ghazaleh Foundation.

Harb was selected from a shortlist that also included Basma Alsharif, Benji Boyadgian, Farah Al Qasimi, Omar Mismar, Rouzbeh Akhbari, and Simohammed Fettaka. The jury was composed of the Han Nefkens Foundation’s eponymous director; Fundació Antoni Tàpies director Carles Guerra; NTUCCA founding director Ute Meta Bauer; Wiels director Dirk Snauwaert; MCAD director Joselina Cruz; and the head of exhibitions at Jameel Arts Centre, Nora Razian. In a joint statement, the jury commended Harb’s “capacity to generate knowledge out of a conflict-ridden lived reality. Her incisive filmmaking provides a critical reading of contemporary existence; a poetic reflection on image production and how this is used in conflict zones.”

In additon to this prize, the Han Nefkens Foundation confers several awards supporting young video artists around the world, including the international ArcoMadrid award, and the Loop Barcelona award for artists of Asian origin.